American Book Award

[ uh-mer-i-kuhn book uh-wawrd ]

noun

1. any of several awards given annually since 1980 to recognize outstanding contributions to American literature: administered by the Before Columbus Foundation, a nonprofit organization. : ABA, A.B.A.

Example Sentences

Her first poetry collection “When My Brother Was an Aztec,” was an American Book Award winner.

From Washington Blade

Paradise Alley won the 2003 James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction and the American Book Award.

From The Daily Beast

More About American Book Award

What is the American Book Award?

The American Book Award is an annual award given to U.S.-based writers in honor of outstanding literary achievements.

The award is presented by the Before Columbus Foundation, which aims to highlight and celebrate the diversity and multiculturalism of the U.S. literary community.

There are no defined categories for the awards and there are no nominees—winners are decided by a panel of judges who are themselves writers.

When is the American Book Award?

The 2022 American Book Award winners were announced in October and were formally recognized on October 9 in an online ceremony.

Winners of the American Book Award are usually announced in the fall.

More information and context on the American Book Award

The award that would become the American Book Award was first presented by the Before Columbus Foundation in 1978, two years after the organization was founded.

The organization’s judges select winners based on their positive contributions to literature, without regard to the writer’s identity, popularity, sales, or the genre of their works.

From 1980 to 1987, there were two separate awards known as the American Book Award. The other, presented by the American Booksellers Association, is now called the National Book Award.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing the American Book Award?

• literature
• fiction
• nonfiction
• poetry
• multicultural
• diversity

How is American Book Award discussed in real life?

The American Book Award is considered a prestigious honor in the U.S. literary community and publishing industry.

Profound thanks to the Before Columbus Foundation for the honor of an #AmericanBookAward, w/ the special citation of the Walter & Lillian Lowenfels Award for Criticism. Thank you for seeking out & seeing this work. Cheers to all recipients! #EverythingMan https://t.co/bsW3L2g1xv

— Dr. Shana L. Redmond (@ShanaRedmond) August 23, 2021

We are thrilled to announce that Randall Horton is a recipient of the American Book Award for {#289-128}: POEMS! He and other 2021 winners will be recognized in an online ceremony on September 19 at 2:00 pm. Congratulations, Randall! For more info, visit https://t.co/FkwvDDj8gp.

— University Press of Kentucky (@KentuckyPress) August 23, 2021

Congrats to @UptownBerber for winning the American Book Award for his book "Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture"! 🌟🌟

— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 22, 2015

 

Try using American Book Award!

True or False?

The American Book Award can only be won by fiction writers.